Display device



United States Patent Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee Priority DISPLAY DEVICE 20 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 104/150, '40/52, 104/151 Int. Cl B61b 13/00 Field of Search 40/32, 52, 56,96; l04/l48-l5l, 153

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,386,956 10/1945 Klamp et al 104/149 2,925,787 2/1960 Rubenstein et a]. 104/150X 3,044,418 7/1962 Beers 104/151X 3,190,646 6/1965 Forsman 104/153X Primary Examiner-Duane A. Reger Attorney Pierce, Scheffler & Parker ABSTRACT: Articles to be displayed are placed on a rotary platform which is supported by a carriage. A first motor propels the carriage along rail means situated on the floor, for instance inside a shop window. A second motor rotates the platform. A programmer turns on and off the electric current to said motors according to a predetermined pattern.

46 3 3 53 *0 210 55 21b 5s 57 52 L Q l M f 1 j 47 P 51 (L8 4 52 49 53 50 5/. 10 340 4m, so 61 62 I; 35 35 35c 35d Patented Dec. 1; 197

Patented Dem-1, 1970 ,543,633

1 DISPLAY Davies The invention is concerned with a device for the display of goods, for example in a shop window. It is an object of the invention to provide a device for moving the goods in a predetermined path in a predetermined pattern, i.e. the goods shall, as desired, be moved in on one direction on said path, be brought to a halt, or be moved in the reverse direction, and the goods shall also, as desired, be rotated in one direction, be brought to a halt, or be brought to rotate in the reverse direction. It is another object of the invention to provide a device in which the goods displayed can be changed in a way invisible to the spectators. Other objects and advantages of the device of the inventionwill be apparent from the following specification.

The device of the invention is characterized in comprising a platform for the gds,' a carriage for supporting the platform, a motor for rotating the platform on the carriage, a motor for driving the carriage, railmeans for piloting the carriage on, a predetermined path, means for supplying electric current to said motors through said rail means and a programer for switching on and switching off the current to said motors in a predetermined pattern. I

The rail means .canconsist of any type of rail or similar means being able to. pilot the carriage on a predetermined path. For example, the rail means can consist of a strip of plastic having a light reflecting surface, electric lines being fastened to said strip for the supply of electric current. The strip pilots the carriage in a photoelectric way, viz. by means of a lamp which illuminates the strip and a photoelectric cell recording the light reflected from the strip and actuating a wheel of the carriage. Alternatively, the rail means can steer one or more wheels of the carriage in a mechanical way. The rail means can be made from a rigid material, or it can be made from a soft material so that it can be bent into the desired shape. The rail means can be made in one piece, or it can be made as a plurality of pieces which are assembled to form a path of the desired shape.

The rail means can be designed with two end oscillating In this case the programer may consist of switches on the carriage, said switches being actuated by switch-actuating means along the rail means. It is preferred, however, to design the rail means in an endless path, a plurality of carriages moving on said path in a main direction. Each carriage moving independently of the other carriages, the distance between the carriages may vary, involving the danger of collision. A remedy for this danger is to so stop the carriages atone point of the path, and to subsequently start them at equal intervals. As an additional safety means the carriages should preferably have front and rear buffers, said buffers being connected to switches for switching off the current to the driving motor, should the carriage collide with an obstacle.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a view of a rail means designed in an endless path and piloting eleven carriages.

FIG. 2 shows a detail of the rail means.

means consists ofa plurality of sections. One end of each line FIG. 3 is a top view of a carriage, the platform for the goods having been removed.

FIG. 4 shows a vertical cross section of the carriage illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 illustrates the electric circuit of the driving motor.

FIG. 6 illustrated the electric circuit of the motor for rotating the platform.

FIG. 7 illustrates thev electric circuit of the programer.

FIG. 8 illustrates the means for stopping and restarting the carriages at equal intervals.

FIG. 3 illustrates alternative means for stopping and restarting the carriages.

The device illustrated in FIG. 1 contains rail means forming an endless path on the floor of the shop window. A screen 5 is placed on the floor to conceal the portion of the rail means which is remote from the spectators. The rail means pilots eleven carriages 2 having platforms for the goods to be disa transformer 3. The device also contains means 4 stopping the carriages and restarting them at equal intervals. The carriage 2a :has been stopped and is waiting for start. The rail means portion concealed by the screen 5 contains carriage ranking means for stopping the carriages 2b and 2c at some distance from each other end from the carriage 2The number of carriages is so large that some carriages are always concealed by the screen 5, and consequently the personnel of the shop can change the goods on said carriages without being seen by the spectators. The carriages are provided with front and rear buffers 25 and 26 connected to switches controlling the driving motor in a way to be described below. According to FIG. 1 the carriages 2d have stopped due to their front buffers having come into contact with the preceding carriage. FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of the rail means 1. It consists of a bottom portion 8 supporting two wall portions 9 defining between them a groove 11. Electric lines 10 are fastened to the outer surface of the wall portion 9, and the lines 10 are connected to the transformer 3 shown in'FIG. 1. The rail 10 has a recess to receive a pin on the end of the line of the adjacent section. The bottom portion 8 contains a recess 12 to receive a corresponding pin on the adjacent section. consequently, the sections can be assembled to form the endless path. The bottom portion 8 contains substantially vertical holes 13 to receive nails for fastening the rail means to the floor if desired. The illustrated rail means consists of an insulating material such as a soft plastic, making it possible to manufacture the sections as straight pieces, and subsequently bending the assembled sections into the desired shape.

The carriage illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 contains a circular plate 14 having four wheels 15. Two wheels 15a, 15b are alined to engage the groove 11 of the rail means, supporting on the bottom of the groove. The front wheel l5a is driven by an electric motor 16 through a gear 17. The two wheels 15c and 15d support on the floor. The plate 14 supports three rollers 18 having their axes of rotation extending radially to the circular plate. One roller 18a is driven by an electric motor 20 having on its shaft a small driven wheel 19 engaging the periphery of the roller. The rollers 18 support a circular platform 24 having in its centre a tubular member 23 engaging a vertical pivot 22 on the carriage. The carriage has front and rear buffers 25 and 26. These buffers are mounted on rods 27, 28 and are provided with coil springs 29, 30. The rods 27, 28 are connected to switches 31, 32 situated in the circuit of the motor 16 in a way to be described below. The carriage has two sliding contacts 21 to slidably engage the electric lines 10 of the rail means, and to convey the current to the motors l6 and 20. The carriage is also provided with a programer 33 receiving electric current from the sliding contacts 21. The programer switches off and switches on the current to the motors l6 and 20 in a predetermined pattern. The programer will be described below. The carriage is provided with a switch-actuating member 34 for actuating a switch 35 provided on or close to the rail means 1. Said switch 35 belongs to the carriage stopping and ranking means and will be described below.

FIG. 5 illustrates the electric circuit of the driving motor of the carriage. The motor is a synchronous motor having a winding 38 for forward movement and a winding 39 for backward movement. The windings are situated in parallel circuits between lines 36, 37 connected to the sliding contacts 21. The winding 38 is connected in series with a relay contact s belonging to a relay which will be described below with reference to the programer, and with the switch 31 which is, as

disclosed above, actuated by the front buffer 25 of the carriage. Similarly, the winding 39 is connected in series with a relay contact s and with the switch 32 which is actuated by the rear buffer 26. If, while moving forward, the carriage collides with an obstacle the switch 31 will switch off the current to the winding 38, and the carriage will consequently stop. Similarly, the winding 39 will be switched off if the carriage collides with an obstacle while moving backward.

FIG. 6 illustrates the electric circuit of the motor for rotating the platform. The motor is a synchronous motor having a winding 42 for the clockwise rotation and a winding 43 for the anticlockwise rotation. The windings are situated in parallel circuits between lines 40, 41 connected with the sliding contacts 21. Each winding is connected in series with a relay contact s s, which will be described later on with reference to the programer.

FIG. 7 illustrates the programer which contains four cascade-connected units'I-l\ which successively actuate different operations of the motor. For instance, the motor may be brought to move forward by the first unit I, to stop by the second unit II, to move backward by the third unit III, and to stop by the fourth unit IV. Subsequently, the fourth unit energizes the first unit and so on. All four units are similarly constructed, comprising a silicon-controlled rectifier L1-L,, a combination of a variable resistor Rl-R, and a condenser Cl-C,,, said combination defining the RC-constant of the unit, the RC-constant being the product RC of the resistance R of the resistor and the capacitance C of the condenser. Each unit also contains a unijunction transistor Tl-T,. The first and third units also contain relay coils 8,, S for actuating the relay contacts s, and s in the circuit of the motor, see FIG. 5.

In the operation of the programer the ac. current from the sliding contacts 21 is rectified in a full-wave rectifier 4M, and the rectified current charges the condenser C The condenser C discharges through the condenser C and the resistor R thus producing a pulse through the diode D, to the gate of the silicon-controlled rectifier L, which is brought into its conducting condition. This results in current flowing through the relay coil 8,, and consequently the relay contact s,, see FIG. 5, closes the circuit of the motor 16 producing the forward movement. Simultaneously, the condensers C, and C are charged. The voltage of the condenser C, having reached a predetermined valve (after a time defined by the product R,C,), the unijunction transistor T, is brought into its conducting condition, resulting in a pulse through the diode D to the gate of the silicon-controlled rectifier L which is thus brought into its conducting condition. This results in the silicon-controlled rectifier L, being biased in the reverse direction by the voltage having been built up by the condenser C resulting in the current to the coil S, being broken and the relay contact S, breaking the current to the winding of the motor for the forward movement of the carriage. Consequently, the carriage is stopped. The silicon-controlled rectifier L is brought into its conducting condition in a similar way, after a time defined by the product R C resulting in the coil 5, and the relay contact 5,, see FIG. 5, switching'on the current to the winding of the motor for the backward movement of the carriage. In a similar way the motor is brought to stop after a time defined by the product R C This stop lasts for a time defined by the product R.,C.,, and subsequently the unit lV energizes the unit I by means of a pulse through the diode D to the gate of the silicon controlled rectifier L,, resulting in the current being switched on to the winding for the forward movement of the carriage.

The RC-constant of the units I-IV can be varied as desired, and consequently the times for the periods of movement and stop of the motor can be varied from nearly zero up to any desired time. If the carriage has stopped owing to-an interrupted current supply to the electric line 10, a renewed current supply always results-in the carriage immediately starting its forward movement, because the unit I is energized before the units II, III and IV. This circumstance is essential for the operation of the device which will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

If desired a combination of two transistors can be substituted for the silicon-controlled rectifiers L-, viz. the combination of a p-n-p transistor and an an-p-n transistor. In this combination, the base of each transistor is to be connected to the collector of the other transistor. A terminal between the collector of the p-n-p transistor and the base of the n-p-n transistor corresponds tothe gate terminal of the silicon-controlled rectifier.

The programer as illustrated in FIG. 7 has been described with reference to the driving motor of the carriage. An equal programer is used for controlling the motor for rotating the platform. The coils S, and S, of said second programer actuate the relay contacts s and 5,, see FIG. 6, thus resulting in a clockwise or anticlockwise rotation of the platform. After an interruption of the current supply to the electric line It), renewed current supply will result in the platform immediately starting the clockwise rotation. If it is desired that the platform shall not rotate when the carriage starts moving after an interruption of the current supply, the coil S, and the resistor R of said second programer shall change places, and so shall the coil S, and the resistor R The use of separate programers for the two motors I6 and 20 makes it possible for the platform to rotate independently of the movement of the carriage. If it is preferred to synchronize the rotation of the platform with the movements of the carriage, both motors may be programed by one single programer.

FIG. 8 illustrates the means ranking the carriages and for stopping and restarting them at equal intervals. The FIG. illustrates the electric line 14) of the rail means, the transformer 3, and a pulse-producing device 4 comprising a relay coil 45 actuating a relay contact 46 to open and close a circuit 63 at predetermined intervals. The pulse-producing device may contain two cascade-connected units of the type illustrated in FIG. 7, viz. a unit I in which the relay coil S, is identical with the relay coil 45 of FIG. 8, thus defining the time during which the circuit 63 is closed, and a unit II in which the RC-constant defines the time during which the circuit 63 is open. Alternatively, the pulse producing device may contain a timer of another known type, for instance a clockwork.

One of the electric lines 10 contains a plurality of narrow gaps 47 defining a plurality of sections, viz. a first set of sections 48-50 being electrically connected with each other and with the main line by lines 55-58, and a second set of sections 51-54. Electric lines 59-62 interconnect the sections 48 and 51, 48 and 52, 49 and 53 and 50 and 54. These lines contain switches 35a-35d to be actuated by the switch-actuating member '34 of the carriages, see also FIG. 4. The switch 35a also forms part of the circuit 63, referred to above. Consequently, the switch 350 can be short-circuited through the relay contact 46.

The device illustrated in FIG. 8 operates in the following way. A carriage 2a, see also FIG. 1, can move on the rail means until its switch-actuating member 34a engages the switch 35a resulting in the current supply to the section SI being interrupted. One of the sliding contacts 21a is in contact with the section 51, and therefore the current supply to the driving motor of the carriage is interrupted, and the carriage will stop, provided that the relay contact 46 is open. The following carriage 2b is supplied with electric current until one of its sliding contacts 21b reaches the section 51. Now the switch-actuating member 34b of said carriage 2b engages the switch 3512, resulting in the current supply to the section 52 being interrupted. Consequently, the following carriages will stop on the sections 52, 53 and 54, thus being ranked without colliding.

The relay contact 46 is now closed by the pulse-producing device 4, resulting in the switch 35a being short-circuited and the current supply to the section 51 being restored. The carriage 20 now starts in its forward direction, because the restored current supply to the programer results in the coil S, being energized. Simultaneously, the switch-actuating member 34a releases the switch 350:. The current supply to the section 51 having thus been restored, the carriage 2b, too, starts moving forward and continues moving forward until it engages the switch 340, thus interrupting the current supply to the section 51. The relay contact 46 shall be closed for a time shorter than that required for the carriage to move from the position 212 to the position 2a.

The carriage 2b having released the switch 34b, current is again supplied to the section 52, and consequently the carriage following the carriage 2b moves into the position 2b. In

this way the carriages are propelled into the position 2a without colliding, and they depart from. the position 2a at equal intervals.

FIG. 9 illustrates a modified embodiment of the device illustrated in FIG. 8. Therefore, the same reference characters have been used for similar parts. According to FIG. 9 the section 51 has a length corresponding to the length of a plurality of carriages. The sections 48-50 and 52--54 of FIG. 8 have been omitted, and so have the switches 35b-35d. A carriage 2a reaching the switch 35a stops due to the current supply to the section 51 being interrupted. Simultaneously also the other carriages 2b, 2c on section 51 stopped. The carriage 2a starts again when the relay contact 46 is closed by the pulseproducing member 4, and simultaneously the carriages 2b and 2c start moving. The carriage 2b moves into the position 2a and stops in said position, resulting in the carriage 2c stopping, too. Consequently, the carriages situated on the section 51 move forward step by step, and they depart from the position 20 at equal intervals.

The device illustrated on the drawings can be modified within the scope of the invention. A few modifications will be suggested below. The buffers and the switches actuated by the buffers can be replaced by optical or magnetic means which stop the carriages if they come too close to each other. For instance, the carriages may be provided with front and rear lamps for transmitting light towards the adjacent carriages, and with front and rear photoelectric cells receiving the light from the lamps of the adjacent carriages. The photoelectric cell actuates a relay having a contact breaking the current to the driving motor of the carriage.- According to another modification the switches 35a-35d can be replaced by optically or magnetically actuated switches, for instance, switches actuated by photoelectric cells receiving light emitted by lamps on the carriage. According to another modification the programer may be controlled by a clockwork or by punched cards in a manner known per se, or it may be controlled from a remote place by optical or acoustic means or by radio. The screen 5 can be used for displaying pictures by means of a projector, said pictures forming a proper background for the goods displayed. The pictures can be changed automatically, for instance by means of a switch which is actuated by the carriages. Other switches can be used in a similar way for controlling spotlights for illuminating the goods displayed, or for controlling a tape recorder emitting music or comments on the goods displayed.

lclaim:

l. A device for the display of goods, characterized in comprising a platform for the goods, a carriage for supporting the platform, a motor for rotating the platform on the carriage, a motor for driving the carriage, rail means for piloting the carriage on a predetermined path, means for supplying electric current to said motors through said rail means, and a programer for switching on and switching off the current to said motors in a predetermined pattern.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the platform is supported by at least three wheels having their axes extending radially, and that the motor for rotating the platform drives one of said wheels.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 characterized in means for stopping the carriages they should come too close to each other.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the carriages are provided with front and rear buffers, said buffers actuating switches in the electric circuit of the driving motor.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the driving motor has separate windings for the forward and backward movements of the carriage, the switch actuated by the front buffer being connected in series with the winding for the forward movement, the switch actuated by the rear buffer being connected in series with the winding for the backward movement.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1 characterized in the rail means being designed as an endless path, means being (provided for stopping the carriages on each turn on said en less path, and for restarting them at equal intervals.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the rail means is provided with electric lines, said lines being provided with an insulated section, means being provided for interrupting and restoring the current supply to said section, alternatively and at equal intervals.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7, characterized by a contact for connecting the insulated section with the main portion of the electric line, a timer being provided for closing and opening said contact at equal intervals.

9. A device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in a switch to be actuated by a carriage so as to interrupt the current supply to an insulating section of the rail means on which the carriage is situated, thus stopping the carriage, means being provided to supply electric current to said insulating section at equal intervals, thus starting the carriage.

10. A device as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that the rail means is provided with electric lines having a plurality of insulated sections, separated by noninsulated sections, each noninsulated section being electrically connected with the adjacent insulated section through a line containing a switch to be actuated by a carriage, a carriage having stopped as a result of an interrupted current supply to an insulated section actuating said switch to interrupt the currentsupply to the adjacent insulated section through said line.

11. A device as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that the programer contains at least a first unit for turning on the current to the driving motor and a second unit for turning off the current to the driving motor, said units containing a first switch and a second switch and a resistor combined with a condenser, the first switch of the first unit being arranged to turn on the current to the driving motor, the second switch of the first unit being arranged to actuate the first switch of the second unit after a predetermined time, said first switch of the second unit immediately actuating, through an additional condenser the first switch of the first unit to turn off the current to the driving motor, the second switch of the second unit actuating the first switch of the first unit to turn on the current to the driving motor after a predetermined time.

12. A device as claimed in claim 11, characterized in the resistor or the condenser, or both being variable, the RC constant defining the predetermined time.

13. A device as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the switches are electronic switches.

14. A device as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the first switch is a thyristor.

15. A device as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that a diode is connected to the gate of the thyristor.

16. A device as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the second switch is a unijunction transistor.

17. A device as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that the first unit contains a relay coil which is energized by the first switch to actuate a relay contact in the circuit of the driving motor.

18. A device as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the second switch of each unit actuates the first switch of the next unit.

19. A device as claimed in claim 11, characterized in also containing a third unit and a fourth unit the first unit turning on the current for the forward movement, the third unit turning on the current for the backward movement, and the second and fourth units turning off the current to the driving motor.

20. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in containing a first programer controlling the driving motor of the carriage, and a second programer controlling the motor for the rotation of the platform. 

